Trimming and tidying!! How far to go?

[Ladybird L]

Would you -
A leave her mostly as is, a bit of subtle tidying
B pull mane up and take off feathers and generally tidy and trim a bit more

Leaning towards B. I love her mane tho! And I just don’t feel brave enough to take it all off…
Could I have pics of cobs with long/short manes and feathers off to help me decide too?


Only pics I got ATM sorry..

 

[Lois Lame]

I'm a leave as is kind of person.

Pulling of manes and tails is something I have never liked, neither the look of it nor the unpleasantness-to-the-horse of it, especially the latter.

 

[Ratface]

I think that you should leave her mane and tail as they are.
As noted above, pulling manes and tails is painful for the equine who owns them, and I think it is inhumane.
In my humble opinion, Summer is the time when manes and tails need to be left alone. An added bonus at this time of year is that they they repel flies, gnats and other airborne nuisances.

 

[Sandstone1]

You do not have to pull manes and tails these days. There are plenty of trimming combs etc like Solo combs etc. She looks nice, I would just tidy up a bit. Pulling is cruel and not needed.

 

[ycbm]

There are some horses which love hair pulling. They are the minority, but they do exist. I don't agree with pulling the ones that don't.
.

 

[scats]

There are some horses which love hair pulling. They are the minority, but they do exist. I don't agree with pulling the ones that don't.
.

I had one of these! He loved his mane being pulled- he used to go all droopy lip and relaxed.

 

[Goldenstar]

I am a trimmer I can’t bear untidy horses .

 

[catkin]

Leave it all on. The hair works as weather and fly protection and there's more hours in the day that that's useful than not.
She's a pretty mare, leave it be.

 

[Polos Mum]

You can do a really nice job on a tail with scissors with practice - certainly wouldn't pull.

Cut a bridle path and plat up her mane loosely and she'll look smart without too much effort / stress.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We had

There are some horses which love hair pulling. They are the minority, but they do exist. I don't agree with pulling the ones that don't.
.

an Appaloosa mare who loved having her mane pulled.
Unless you particularly wish to show the cob, in which case, you should hog the mane, I would leave the hair alone. Trimming has no benefit to the horse, except if there are health issues that need you to be able to get to the skin.

 

[Mrs G]

There are alternatives to pulling - I use a thinning rake just to thin out my horses mane a little (he gets very sweaty underneath) and a solo comb to take length off the ends. I prefer his tail completely natural and just trim the end with scissors so it doesnt get too long in winter (I leave it in summer to swish the flies away). On very thick heavy tails - which it looks like your horse has got I might use the thinning rake - but only if the thickness is affecting the health of the skin of the dock underneath. Feathers on or off is often personal preference - but again it can help with skin issues. With hogging manes, clipping feathers etc - once you start you have to keep on top of it or go through the fugly growing out stage!

 

[Fransurrey]

I would leave as is, too. The only thing I do with my gypsy cob is thin the mane, tail and feathers in the summer. I do it using thinning scissors, targeting the hair underneath, so it blends well. same for the feather. That's just to help keep him cool, though.

 

[lauragreen85]

I use thinning scissors to keep it maintained . lovely horse

 

[Z3bby]

My boy is pretty much B.
Except I don’t pull, just rake and trim.
Along with year round body clips

 

[SpotsandBays]

I’d tidy up the mane and tail, possibly trim feathers up. (One of mine I don’t trim the feathers off of because he can get sunburn on his white foot and the hair prevents that)